A question of trust : Exploring trust concepts, experiences, and early observations from Europe

Abstract

In times of global crises, such as those that originated from novel infectious diseases, people lack knowledge to understand how to cope with them. Because of potential life-threatening situations caused by these diseases, people will start seeking information to increase their knowledge on the matter and improve the quality of their decisions. Not all information is equally credible. Why, then, do people gauge some sources of information as more credible than others? Research shows that it all depends on one key factor: trust. Trust is an essential coping mechanism people use when they lack sufficient information or expertise to make an objective decision such as following health recommendations. In health crises, it has been repeatedly shown that trust in the source of risk information highly influences people’s willingness to follow public health rules and guidelines. This chapter seeks to clarify the concept of trust and the mechanisms as well as outcomes it produces. As trust is attributable to relationships at all levels of society, within and among social groups, this chapter structures the discussion of trust focussing on the micro, meso and macro levels and offers some illustrative examples from Europe of its relevance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that are both translatable and applicable in different geographical contexts as well as forms and types of crisis.